


The Wereling: Runaway

by Brambleshadow_of_WindClan



Category: The Wereling - Stephen Cole
Genre: Gen, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-17
Updated: 2012-03-17
Packaged: 2017-11-02 01:49:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/363680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brambleshadow_of_WindClan/pseuds/Brambleshadow_of_WindClan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Songfic. "Ooh, she's a little runaway/Daddy's girl learned fast/All those things he couldn't say/Ooh, she's a little runaway"</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Wereling: Runaway

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first-ever Wereling fanfic (amazing how few stories in this fandom there are, huh?). It's a songfic to "Runaway" by Bon Jovi. Let me know what you think.

_On the streets where you live  
Girls talk about their social lives  
They're made of lipstick, plastic, and paint  
A touch of sable in their eyes_

"Tom!" Kate Folan sprinted down the streets of New York, wondering where her wereling friend could have gone. They'd been walking together when Tom Anderson had heard footsteps behind them, and he'd taken off. Kate had done the same, trying to stay with him, but somehow they'd split up. Now she had no idea where the werewolf had disappeared to.

Her lungs screamed for air and her leg muscles were on fire, but Kate didn't stop running. She turned a corner and pulled up short when she saw a group of maybe five girls her own age—seventeen. They wore much makeup and glitter and were dressed up as if they were going to a party, though where there would be a party at nine o'clock at night Kate had no idea. As they looked her over, Kate tensed, her fingernails biting into her palms. She bit her lip as she felt blood well up in the scratches.

"What're you doing 'round here, girl?" a blonde-haired girl asked, looking over the stick-straight black-haired pureblood 'wolf with contempt in her eyes.

"I could ask you the same question," Kate retorted, her green eyes flashing, "but since I have somewhere to be, I'll leave you to talk about your non-important, conceited social lives."

The girl's mouth hung open as she tried to figure out whether she'd been insulted or not. Kate didn't care; she honestly was more interested in finding out where Tom was, so she brushed past the group and kept running, keeping her ears alert for the sound of hungry 'wolves on her tail.

A powerful, deep-chested, dark-furred 'wolf suddenly leaped out in front of her. Kate skidded to a halt and screeched in terror. "NO!"

Then she saw the dark eyes of the creature before her: human eyes, _Tom's_ eyes. Relief crashed over her. "Oh, thank God, Tom. You found me."

He nodded and nudged her with his muzzle, turning her in a new direction. She walked alongside him until he ducked off into a dark alley—presumably to change back into human form. Kate heard the sickening sound of bones snapping back into place and muscles shrinking away; then Tom, human again, was back at her side, wearing clothing that wasn't his own.

"Don't ever scare me like that again," she scolded. "I thought you were one of Takapa's 'wolves."

Tom cracked a small smile at her, and she found herself smiling in return. His dark hair was spiked up, and the look in his dark brown eyes made her want to hold him close . . .

 _No. I can't. Not while he's lupine._ Kate knew that whatever was developing between them wouldn't stand a chance while Tom was still 'wolf. As a pureblood, her latent lupine nature would be woken if she mated with another werewolf. Kate was determined to stay human.

Her family had bitten Tom after he'd washed up on their bank from the river, where he'd survived a bear attack, and then held him prisoner for a month while they force-fed him turning potions to turn the silverblood 'wolf—to make him Kate's mate. The plan had backfired when Tom accidentally killed Wesley Folan, Kate's younger brother, and now the two of them were on the run.

_All your life (all your life) all you've asked  
When is your daddy gonna talk to you  
But you were living in another world  
Trying to get your message through_

"I'll try not to, but with us being chased by said werewolves, I don't know if I can keep that promise," the sixteen-year-old wereling replied.

Somehow, what Tom had just said reminded Kate irresistibly of her father. Hal Folan had always tried to control Marcie's bloodlust, to become more civilized. When she had been younger, Kate worshipped the ground he walked on, had looked up to him. She'd thought he'd been the strongest man ever. It hadn't been until she was thirteen that she'd discovered what her family really did when they went out at night: hunting in sleek lupine form, bringing back their kills. He'd tried to do his best for Kate, but in the end, he hadn't stopped Marcie from turning Tom, from making him one of them.

Well, not exactly. Though Tom _had_ been turned, he'd come out of the whole process a wereling, a werewolf who kept his human mind even when he was in 'wolf form. That was what set him apart from the other werewolves; his eyes were still human, whatever form he was forced to take, unlike normal 'wolves, whose eyes turned a sickly yellow when they were changing forms.

Marcie Folan had put out the word on them, and now Tom and Kate were no longer safe. Anyone could be a 'wolf. It kinda made it hard to know who to trust. That was something Kate's father hadn't been able to stop either, she thought bitterly. But then, she'd escaped from the truth about her family by living in cyberspace, escaping into a whole other world.

_No one heard a single word you said  
They should have seen it in your eyes  
What was going around your head_

Tom frowned at her when she didn't reply. "Kate? You okay?"

She shook herself out of her thoughts. "Yeah, as well as I can be, I guess. What with this horror and all."

He cracked a small grin. "Likewise." Tom glanced behind him. "Come on, let's keep moving."

She walked beside him, her thoughts returning to her family. None of them had paid any attention to her, had heard a single word she'd said, not even her father. But then, he should have seen in Marcie's crazed eyes what was going around her head. And Wesley . . . he was too much like his mother, too eager for the hunt, the kill: out of control. Tom had killed him in self-defense, to protect himself and Kate. Then they'd had to escape.

_Ooh, she's a little runaway  
Daddy's girl learned fast  
All those things he couldn't say  
Ooh, she's a little runaway_

The two of them had been on the run for a few months now. Of course, Kate had run away several times since she'd found out her family's secret, only to be brought back. She had always been Daddy's little girl, but once she'd hit her teens, she learned fast that there were things he couldn't say—or wouldn't.

A cool breeze swept down the street. It was already autumn, and Christmas was a couple months away. Kate shivered and pulled her denim jacket tighter around her. She was vaguely aware of Tom slinging an arm over her shoulder and pulling her closer against him. Normally she would have shoved him away, but right then she needed the warmth his body provided.

Life on the run certainly suited her, whether she liked it or not.

_A different line every night  
Guaranteed to blow your mind  
I see you out on the streets  
Call me for a wild time_

After another block, she noticed Tom's arm had returned to his side. Glancing across the street, she noticed a couple of guys eyeing her with interest. Kate was tempted to give them the finger when Tom, noticing the gawkers, stiffened, a low growl in his throat.

"Tom, no!" she hissed. "Don't you dare go 'wolf on me. What if they're lupine?"

He ignored her, baring his teeth as the two men came closer. (Well, _men_ was the wrong word. They looked to be about eighteen or nineteen.) One of them issued a very specific invitation to Kate, while his buddy cast an appreciative look over the black-haired girl.

Tom's growling, which had been quiet, intensified. Kate felt sick when she saw the lupine glow in his eyes. He was close to changing, she just knew it.

"Cool it," she whispered. The wereling shook his head and tried to speak, but every word came out as either a growl or a feral snarl.

"Whoa, what's with him?" one of the guys asked, looking at Tom with a slightly freaked-out face.

"You don't leave me alone, he'll turn you into dog meat," Kate snapped. "Literally."

The smarter guy turned and left, tugging at his friend's leather jacket. Leather Jacket didn't budge. He told Kate, "Hey, if he's not around and you're out on the streets, call me for a wild time, babe."

She spat in his face, then smiled sweetly. "Oh, trust me, I'm already having one." She turned around, her fingers intertwining with Tom's. "Come on, Tom, let's go."

The wereling let her lead, struggling all the while to regain control. It took him a few minutes, but he finally said, "Sorry, Kate. My 'wolf . . . it's hard to keep control."

"I told you this already, but the closer it is to the full moon, the harder it will be to maintain control over your lupine. Now come on. Let's see if we can find somewhere to spend the night."

_So you sit home alone  
'Cause there's nothing left that you can do  
There's only pictures hung in the shadows  
Left there to look at you_

While Tom and Kate were on the streets in New York, Hal was sitting on the couch in their home in Seattle, looking at some old photographs of his daughter. He'd returned home at Marcie's insistence, saying that she could handle herself just fine without him, but he knew that she was totally seduced by Takapa's plans for the lupine community. He wasn't strong enough to stand up to her; he was completely bound by the old priciples of the 'wolf brotherhood. And now, there was nothing left that he could do. His son was dead, his wife was certifiably insane, and his daughter was a little runaway. All that was left were pictures, hung in the shadows, to torture him.

The 'wolf beneath his skin itched, wanting to be set loose and run freely. He resisted the instinct, but his lupine wasn't happy about it. Hal glanced down at the photos again, hoping that wherever Kate was, she was safe for now. It was only a matter of time before they ran into Marcie and Takapa again.

_You know she likes the lights  
At night on the neon Broadway signs  
And she don't really mind  
It's only love she hoped to find_

Lights from the neon Broadway sign lent color to the otherwise black night. Kate had always liked the neon colors, but tonight they seemed to make everything under their light look sinister.

_Stop it,_ she told herself, shaking her head a little. _Now you're just being paranoid._ Although she had good reason . . .

"Hey, Kate, how about we rest here for the night?" Tom pointed to a little alcove hidden in the far reaches of an alley, next to an abandoned building. His voice jolted her out of her throughts. He continued, "If we lie together, it might not be so cold." 

She glared at him. "Tom Anderson, if you're coming on to me—"

"I'm not!" he protested, but Kate noticed he'd turned his face away slightly. A smirk lifted her lips briefly for a second; then she had her normal expression. To her shock, she found that she didn't really mind. This whole maybe-having-feelings-for-Tom thing was confusing her. As a general rule, Kate usually knew what she wanted. And yet, it seemed that all they were going through was bringing them closer together.

Clearing her head, she strode into the little alcove and flopped down onto a pile of cardboard boxes that had been there for God knew how long. Kate found she was suddenly _very_ tired, her eyes already starting to close.

She was already asleep by the time Tom joined her. Her dreams were dark and full of yellow-eyed beasts running alongside her though mist-filled woods, urging her to change and hunt with the pack. Then Tom was there in his lupine form, dark eyes pleading with her. In the dream, she felt her latent 'wolf spirit rising, could feel the transformation taking place. Her nails lengthened into claws; her teeth and gums itched as they grew and formed fangs; ragged, coarse hair sprouted from every pore; her spine and pelvis cracked as they adjusted to a four-legged body. Metamorphosis complete, she took off after the wereling, relishing the scents of the forest and the feel of the ground beneath her huge paws.

A chorus of frustrated howls rose in the distance . . .

Kate awoke gasping for breath. Seeing that Tom was curled up against her side, she scurried away from him with a hissing intake of disgust. The dream had horrified and sickened her; she didn't want to think about what it might mean. Glancing around, Kate realized it was morning.

_When's the last time we've had a full night's sleep?_ she thought. Well, the last time she could remember was with her family, before they'd turned Tom, before they'd had to run away.

_Ooh, she's a little runaway  
Daddy's girl learned fast  
All those things he couldn't say  
Ooh, she's a little runaway_

_No one heard a single word you said  
You should have seen it in your eyes  
What was going around your head_

Even if she hadn't, her mom wouldn't have listened to her protests. Marcie was determined that Kate would embrace her lupine heritage . . . and Daddy's little girl hadn't been able to twist him around her finger this time. So when she'd learned what her family was doing to the sixteen-year-old that they'd "rescued," she'd made plans to help him escape. Of course, none of that would have shone in her eyes, but surely her parents had guessed what had been going around in her head.

And now the two teenagers were stuck in New York, trying to find a way to Chicago to stop Takapa's latest plan. Granted, they were wanted criminals—or Tom was, anyway—wanted for a double homicide in New Orleans that Kate's mother had committed. Being on the run from the law and other werewolves sucked, but until the whole deal with Takapa was finished, there was no going back. Hopefully Jicaque would be able to cure him. He would've been able to, too, but Tom had realized that his own 'wolf might be useful while they were still fighting the lupines. If only they had a night away from all this . . .

_Ooh, she's a little runaway  
Daddy's girl learned fast  
All those things he couldn't say_

_Ooh, she's a little runaway  
Daddy's girl learned fast  
Now she wants a night away_

_Ooh, she's a little runaway  
Daddy's girl learned fast  
All those things he couldn't say_

_Ooh, she's a little runaway  
Daddy's girl learned fast  
Now she wants a night away_


End file.
